How to tell if your DVD is bootleg

[mrveggieman]

I was just messing around online when while things were slow at work and I stumbled across this. I'm just curious what are everyone's thoughts on bootlegs?

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Archiv...s/td-p/2668766

[DustnBones001]

I have no issues with bootlegs. Especially when they are created when there is no offical dvd or bd on the market for a particular film or tv show.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by DustnBones001

I have no issues with bootlegs. Especially when they are created when there is no offical dvd or bd on the market for a particular film or tv show.

If there's no official release, I support pirating the content, but paying for a bootleg under those circumstances is stupid, you're just paying somebody else to download it and burn it to a disc for you.

[D00mM4r1n3]

If an American release ships from China or Los Angeles, chances are it's a bootleg. Nothing against Los Angeles in general, it's just where most cargo ships from China go to dump their load in the US (Port of Los Angeles.) Same goes true for other things like videogames and major American company-branded computer parts.

[DustnBones001]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

If there's no official release, I support pirating the content, but paying for a bootleg under those circumstances is stupid, you're just paying somebody else to download it and burn it to a disc for you.

I'm cool with piracy but I much prefer to have my entertainment on physical disc whenever possible so it's worth it to me pay for bootlegs. Especially now when I have a chromebook as my primary computer and only get about 60GB of hard drive space.

[p w]

VSO Inspector, it's freeware, is a program for scanning CD, DVD, & Bluray. It'll give you some information about the media.

https://www.vso-software.fr/products.../inspector.php

I just picked up a music CD on ebay that I really had to scratch my head at the quality of the bootleg (if it was one). Scanned it on VSO and it says its legit. Talked with a couple of other people that own the CD and found the odd appearance of the audio layer is standard with that disc.

Whereas years back I bought an series boxset on ebay and it screamed bootleg. Bad artwork (which wasn't shown in the auction). Google translated subtitles. Bad encoding. ETC.

[smithb]

There are many bootlegs of legitimate releases on eBay that are so close to the real thing in packaging and disk art are that it is hard to tell them from the real deal. They even have the disk "pressed", not the old "burned" disks of the past. There are bootlegs of the complete "Dark Shadows" with the coffin box and everything.

There is no way to know until they are in your hand, but the easiest indication, in general, is the disk size. Almost everything these days is distributed using dual layer disks. These bootlegs are exact copies but squeezed into a single layer. they don't generally look bad, but are obviously over-compressed.

Bootlegs are generally mass produced for TV series that have high demand (e.g., Star Trek) or high normal prices (e.g. Dark Shadows).

[chip75]

Originally Posted by smithb

There is no way to know until they are in your hand, but the easiest indication, in general, is the disk size. Almost everything these days is distributed using dual layer disks. These bootlegs are exact copies but squeezed into a single layer. they don't generally look bad, but are obviously over-compressed.

They've been bootlegging dual-layer DVDs and BDs for a few years.

[Jobla]

I believe that a lot of product from Spain are boots.

[p w]

Originally Posted by Jobla

I believe that a lot of product from Spain are boots.

russian and chinese sources tend to be suspect too.

[thecalm_7]

I bought a few lesser titles that were bootlegs by accident. They didn’t have the numbers on the inner ring of the disc on the underside. It’s not always an indicator, but I haven’t seen many major labels run discs without those. Also they have barcode like image as well which I’ve not seen on any knock off.
Cult Epics was selling OOP titles on eBay some years ago and they were not much and I bit. Opened them and checked them, they looked sort of suspect. Contacted them but they said it was their account. Said those titles did not have underside markings.
When in doubt and it’s in your hand, I’ve don’t the following-
-check the forums, often their databases will have images and sometimes disc details
-contact the manufacturer and ask, that is timely, but I did have a couple CD labels offer to replace the item if I’d ship them the fake and some info.
-with retro gaming, try to find a pic of the real game cart opened and compare. Especially good deals on rare games.
-Instagram- I use it to look for products, compare them to what I have in hand.

[smithb]

Originally Posted by chip75

They've been bootlegging dual-layer DVDs and BDs for a few years.

All the one's I've heard of reported that were purchased on ebay and through some third party sellers on Amazon were single layer, which represents a replication cost saving to those creating the copies. That would be many of the Star Trek series, titles produced by Shout!, and Dark Shadows to name a few.

I'm curious, can you reference some titles where the boots were actually replicated as dual layer. I ask because most consumers wouldn't check, so i would wonder why they would go to that added expense?

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by DustnBones001

I'm cool with piracy but I much prefer to have my entertainment on physical disc whenever possible so it's worth it to me pay for bootlegs. Especially now when I have a chromebook as my primary computer and only get about 60GB of hard drive space.

My point is that you can buy a DVD burner for the cost of a couple of bootlegs, you'll wind up spending far less in the long run and getting the end result you want much quicker. It's not like the bootleggers have pride in their work or craftsmanship, they download from Youtube, or from fans who actually put the work in and put it on-line for free.

[GRD43L]

Purchasing bootlegs should be discouraged, ESPECIALLY so for independent movies with small budgets & exposures.

But I do realize it will never stop and never go away.

[GreatGreg]

Originally Posted by smithb

All the one's I've heard of reported that were purchased on ebay and through some third party sellers on Amazon were single layer, which represents a replication cost saving to those creating the copies. That would be many of the Star Trek series, titles produced by Shout!, and Dark Shadows to name a few.

I'm curious, can you reference some titles where the boots were actually replicated as dual layer. I ask because most consumers wouldn't check, so i would wonder why they would go to that added expense?

Anything labeled as 'DVD-9' is a dual-layer bootleg. These have been available for at least the last 10 years or so.

Bootlegs are everywhere. Some of the bootlegs from China are almost identical to the real thing.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by smithb

I'm curious, can you reference some titles where the boots were actually replicated as dual layer. I ask because most consumers wouldn't check, so i would wonder why they would go to that added expense?

If I remember a few of the Spanish outfits use dual-layered discs and in a few cases their releases are actually superior to the retail versions. I think there's a few Night of the Living Dead 1990 BDs that are too.

[smithb]

Originally Posted by GreatGreg

Anything labeled as 'DVD-9' is a dual-layer bootleg. These have been available for at least the last 10 years or so.

Bootlegs are everywhere. Some of the bootlegs from China are almost identical to the real thing.

Maybe the issue here is that there are a variety of bootlegs being made and distributed that probably need some distinction based on what one is looking for or attempting to stay away from. Without some distinction it is more difficult to discuss because they don't all compare easily.

I buy bootleg sports games from recordings of the 1970's through 1990's. These are rarely available in commercial form. Mostly, these are distributed on burned media and sent in white envelopes. Some buy rarely seen TV shows the same way. Anyone buying these knows exactly what they are getting.

There are international companies not adhering to copyrights distributing DVDs blu-rays as commercial pressed disks, generally using prints they were able to obtain internationally. They are marketed as their own property and under their own label. I've seen these for Spain and Italy. Sometimes these are better then other official releases. It just depends on the quality of the print used.

Then there are those that I'm referencing that possibly come from Korea or China that are direct copies of legitimate releases, made to look as authenticate as possible. The materials and art work are generally a bit cheaper in quality, and the disks pressed with duplicate labels. They sell on ebay and through Amazon marketplace cheap. From all I've ever seen reported, these are all single layer representations of the dual layer originals. They are generally TV series and boxed sets. They look legitimate enough to fool the average consumer looking for that special deal but are substandard in every way possible so they can get away with faking the real thing. It really makes no sense for these fake sets to use manufactured dual layer disks because it just adds to their costs for no reason necessary. Which is why I mentioned checking the disk size because that has always been the best indicator for these types of fake sets.

[smithb]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

My point is that you can buy a DVD burner for the cost of a couple of bootlegs, you'll wind up spending far less in the long run and getting the end result you want much quicker. It's not like the bootleggers have pride in their work or craftsmanship, they download from Youtube, or from fans who actually put the work in and put it on-line for free.

Not true from my experiences. The NFL has uploaded, most if not all, the Super Bowls, and many other famous games. There are some quality later basketball games available. However, the bulk of the games I own either are not readily available on line or the quality is not as good as I was able to get from a boot. There are actually some people who do care about the quality and take the hobby of collecting broadcast content seriously. Now there are others that just propagate the content to make a fast buck, which accounts for the more common content available, but not the more rare or higher quality captures. YMMV depending on what one is looking for.

[GreatGreg]

I agree that we should probably have a distinction or definition as to the different types of bootlegs we are talking about.

However, with regard to dual-layer, I know that many Asian bootleg shops market dual-layer discs as 'higher quality' and charge a premium for them.

I've been to stores in Toronto (Pacific Mall, Markham First Place) and China (most of them in Shenzhen, close to the Bootleg capital of Guangzhou) and while 'regular' DVDs are $1-2, DVD-9s are higher quality and cost $3-4 each.

Originally Posted by smithb

Maybe the issue here is that there are a variety of bootlegs being made and distributed that probably need some distinction based on what one is looking for or attempting to stay away from. Without some distinction it is more difficult to discuss because they don't all compare easily.

I buy bootleg sports games from recordings of the 1970's through 1990's. These are rarely available in commercial form. Mostly, these are distributed on burned media and sent in white envelopes. Some buy rarely seen TV shows the same way. Anyone buying these knows exactly what they are getting.

There are international companies not adhering to copyrights distributing DVDs blu-rays as commercial pressed disks, generally using prints they were able to obtain internationally. They are marketed as their own property and under their own label. I've seen these for Spain and Italy. Sometimes these are better then other official releases. It just depends on the quality of the print used.

Then there are those that I'm referencing that possibly come from Korea or China that are direct copies of legitimate releases, made to look as authenticate as possible. The materials and art work are generally a bit cheaper in quality, and the disks pressed with duplicate labels. They sell on ebay and through Amazon marketplace cheap. From all I've ever seen reported, these are all single layer representations of the dual layer originals. They are generally TV series and boxed sets. They look legitimate enough to fool the average consumer looking for that special deal but are substandard in every way possible so they can get away with faking the real thing. It really makes no sense for these fake sets to use manufactured dual layer disks because it just adds to their costs for no reason necessary. Which is why I mentioned checking the disk size because that has always been the best indicator for these types of fake sets.

[smithb]

Originally Posted by GreatGreg

I agree that we should probably have a distinction or definition as to the different types of bootlegs we are talking about.

However, with regard to dual-layer, I know that many Asian bootleg shops market dual-layer discs as 'higher quality' and charge a premium for them.

I've been to stores in Toronto (Pacific Mall, Markham First Place) and China (most of them in Shenzhen, close to the Bootleg capital of Guangzhou) and while 'regular' DVDs are $1-2, DVD-9s are higher quality and cost $3-4 each.

And that makes perfect sense. You know exactly what you are getting and they charge extra for the higher quality to offset the additional cost. Unfortunately, the one's I was referencing have people thinking they are getting a quality legitimate release for a discount, when they aren't.

I read of a person that ordered the complete Dark Shadows in the coffin case. After receiving it they became concerned because the paper was peeling off the coffin box. They asked around and finally checked the disk size to find they were all single layer, when the legit release used dual layer. After complaining the seller refunded the money and told him to keep the set. That makes one wonder just how cheap these sets are to produce if they don't even care to get it back.